May 15, 2019

Along with everything these days, you can shop for your next pair of eyeglasses or sunglasses online. But while it may be convenient to be able to shop any time of day or night, many people prefer to try on a pair of glasses--in fact, multiple pairs of glasses--before purchasing them. Luckily for you, five of the top independent eyewear brands have New York City storefronts. Whether you browse their websites and try glasses on in the store or browse the store and buy online, you'll be getting your hands on quality eyewear that's both unique and creative. What's more New York than that?

1. Illesteva

Born in New York in 2009, Illesteva has its original location at 49 Prince Street in SoHo, and another storefront on the Upper East Side at 814 Lexington Avenue. This independent eyewear brand features glasses designed in NYC and handcrafted in France and Italy. Look for celeb-inspired pieces or consider the best-selling "Leonard" in classic tortoise. Whichever style you choose, don't be fooled by its apparent simplicity: These quality pieces take nearly 50 steps to produce--per pair!

November 27, 2018

Snow blindness is akin to a sunburn on your eyeball and is an extreme form of photokeratitis, a burn on the cornea. When sunlight shines on snow, the rays reflect off the white snow and are absorbed by your face, with a portion of that light traveling directly into your eyes. Excessive UV exposure (particularly UVB) can damage the outer cells of the eyeball leading to snow blindness.

January 13, 2015

Are you tired of constantly charging your Fitbit? Do you have more pairs of running tights than jeans? Do you have more Strava followers than Twitter followers? If you’re sporty and you know it, embrace it. Go for polarized lenses and a sleek, sporty look. Wraparound sunglasses will stay put when you’re sweating, but they’ll look great with your favorite fleece and a pair of jeans, too.

December 05, 2014

Ray-Ban first introduced wayfarers back in 1956, revolutionizing the world of sunglass fashion forever. The frame has been celebrated over the decades for its universal wearability and confident stylization. The plastic, trapezoidal frames gained immediate popularity and stayed in vogue for almost 20 years before sinking into fashion no-man’s-land and then reappearing again in the 21st century.

November 23, 2014

While you work on staying young, your body and the world around you are working against you. Botox and dermal fillers are part of a billion-dollar industry that just keeps on growing as we keep aging. However, if you regularly wear your sunglasses when you go outside, you can do a lot to stave off the need for Botox injections or any other cosmetic procedure for a long time.

November 19, 2014

Sunglasses make great gifts. They’re useful, fun, and fashionable, and unlike clothing, you can’t offend someone by buying the wrong size. However, you do have to pay a little bit of extra attention if you’re trying to find the perfect pair of sunglasses for your man.

November 14, 2014

As temperatures drop and the days get shorter, most people think about bulky sweaters, pea coats, cozy caps, and boots. What about those bright, crisp days, though? You might be decked out in a fab scarf and the perfect coat and boots, but your look won’t be complete without the perfect pair of shades. Check out these great 2014 winter sunglasses trends and find your perfect pair of shades, whether you’re hitting the slopes or you’re just taking a blustery stroll down the street.

November 10, 2014

If you’ve ever attended an outdoor wedding or graduation ceremony, you may have decided to forgo the sunglasses because you wanted to be respectful and appropriately formal. Still - going without sunglasses on a bright day can be a real pain and really bad for your eyes.

Is there a way to wear shades to a formal event without being disrespectful or looking like you’re trying to hide that you’re falling asleep? Yes, there is. You just have to make the right eyewear choices for the event. Here’s a simple guide for which shades are great for formal day events, as well as a few that you should never wear with a suit or formal dress.

November 06, 2014

Aviator sunglasses have been around for decades. They’re one of the most popular and classic sunglass styles around. They’ve stood the test of time, and it doesn’t look like they’ll be going anywhere anytime soon. Having the right pair of aviators for your face and your style can mean the difference between showing up looking like Joe Schmoe or looking put together, crisp, and cool.

You might think that aviators are all the same, but there are actually three basic frame shapes to this classic style. Each one has a slightly different look and feel, and each one is perfect in its own way. All three can work on almost any face shape, but they each have a slightly different style that will work better for different fashion personality types.

Let’s take a stroll through each of these aviator variations, and you can decide if one is better for you than the others or if you need to pick up one of each and swap out your aviators for any occasion.

September 03, 2014

Clubmasters are back. The popular retro browline frame has made a resurgence in recent years thanks to being featured in the TV series Mad Men and in the hipster subculture as a nod to the accoutrements of yesteryear. Clubmasters are defined by angular wayfarer-like styling on the upper rim of a sunglasses frame tapering down to a rimless (or thin metal rim) portion on the bottom half of the frame. The style has risen and fallen in popularity over the years, but the original browline frame traces its roots to over half a century ago in post-WWII United States.

Before becoming 21st-century hipster eye candy, the browline frame lived an illustrious career as the frame of choice for celebrities and pop culture figures in the 50’s and 60’s.